Different
by Cubette
Summary: Ponyville is a town completely populated by equines, and it's never been any different. But Twilight finds a defenseless infant human, abandon in the town, and she decides to take her under her wing. She's a bit of a hoofful, but Twilight is willing to love and defend her at the cost of her life, and perhaps her studies.


Twilight lowered her head and took another bite of her hay sandwich. She had offered to bring Applejack out to lunch after she had a tough day working.

"It was mighty kind of ya' to take me to lunch, Twi." Applejack thanked her, before biting into her own sandwich.

"No need to thank me, Applejack. It's nice to take a break from my studies every once in a while and go out to lunch with a friend." she told Applejack. They ate their lunch in silence under the warm sun. Twilight offered to pay. And they left, going their separate ways.

Applejack walked back towards Apple Acres, preparing herself for taking a nap under the autumn sky. She took the opportunity to admire her surroundings. There wasn't one cloud in the sky, and the sun was beaming brightly over ponyville. It looked beautiful combined with the colorful leaves being tugged off their branches and dancing to the ground. She couldn't help but grin as she caught one landing in the brim of her hat. She flicked it out and kept walking, and daydreaming as she did so. Her peaceful walk was interrupted by Twilights panicked voice._Why, this can't be good_. She turned and saw Twilight galloping towards her.

"Applejack! I-it's amazing! It's impossible!" She gasped between words, "You have to see this!"

"See what, now?" Applejack interrogated. They approached a pile of garbage bags and trash cans. Applejack's jaw dropped when something unique caught her sight. "Is that a h-human?" she questioned. Twilight didn't hesitate to hush Applejack. An infant human was asleep amongst the pile of filth. She had orange fuzz sticking up at the top of her head, a purple pacifier in her mouth and a diaper hanging on her waist. Applejack scooped her up.

"Try to avoid drawing attention, Applejack." Twilight insisted. Applejack nodded and focused her attention on the trash heap.

"Now, what kind a' monster would abandon a baby like this?" Applejack questioned, staring at the filthy trash bags. Twilight and Applejack shared a concerned look. Of course, now they had to go to Twilight's library and get information on how this happened. Humans are just known as myths to ponies all over Equestria, they normally only take part in bedtime stories for school-fillies and colts.

"Make sure nopony sees her, I don't want any attention drawn." Twilight whispered in Applejack's ear. Applejack shuddered when she imagined what kinds of horrible experiments would be done on her if anypony found out.

They entered the library, and unfortunately, and unexpectedly, Rainbow Dash was in there, reading. By the time she looked up from her book all of their mouths were gaping wide.

"Twilight! What kinds of experiments have you been running?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Applejack closed the door.

"This wasn't an experiment, Rainbow Dash." Twilight informed the egocentric filly. "This baby is evidence that there may be actual human beings living in Equestria." As she said this the baby whined a little.

"So you're not gonna run crazy tests and stuff on it, right?" Rainbow questioned.

"Of course not!" Twilight snapped. "How did you even get in here?"

"Through the front door, it wasn't locked." She chuckled a bit. Twilight rolled her eyes. The baby whined more.

"Rainbow, do you think you could ask Pinkie to get diapers, bottles, and-" Rainbow Dash was already on her way. Applejack glanced at Twilight.

"Ah' just can't believe- ah' mean, ah' th-thought humans were jus' made up." Applejack stammered.

"I suppose not. And it would probably be useless trying to find her parents," Twilight began, "If humans went unnoticed and unfound for milleniums than it would be nearly impossible."

"Ah'll keep watch of er' for ya' if you can't." Applejack offered. Twilight refused.

"I need to do some research before I decide what to do with her." Twilight replied steadily. Applejack's face curled into an expression of disgust.

"Now, you're treatin' er' like some type of science experiment! It's a breathin' creature, Twilight!"

"But, this is a once in a lifetime chance, Applejack! I've discovered something thought to have never existed!" She shouted. Just then, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity burst in through the door.

"Rainbow! I didn't want you to tell anypony what happened!" Came Twilight's furious growl.

"I meant to only tell Pinkie, but Rarity was there too and wouldn't go away until I told her what I told Pinkie!" Rainbow uttered in defense. Twilight shot her a look that was capable of ripping both of her wings off and disintegrating them. Her purple eyes moved to focus on Rarity and Pinkie Pie.

"You can't tell anypony I've found this human." She said. "She's likely one of the only humans in Equestria."

"It would be untrue of me to tell anypony."

"I Pinkie Promise!"

Twilight was soon left alone with the baby, all the stuff Pinkie Pie dropped off and Spike. Not knowing what else to do, she read a couple books on taking care of babies. The books were helpful, although they were about fillies and colts, not a completely different species. She was warmly wrapped in one of Spike's old blankets, fed, and clean. Twilight gently wrapped her magic around her body and levitated her into the air. To Twilight's surprise, she managed to smile and laugh. Twilight smiled too. They went up the stairs, and she went into a basket identical to the one Spike sleeps in. As long as she was going to stay there, Twilight thought she should give her a name. Fallen Leaf. Twilight couldn't think of anything more clever than that, she had hair the color of a fall leaf and she appeared here in Autumn. Twilight wondered what name she might of had before.

Twilight trusted Applejack with Fallen Leaf for a little while. She was going to take a risk visiting the Everfree Forest, as an attempt to possibly find Fallen Leaf's family, or possibly a family member, deciding against what she had said earlier. She entered the creepy forest, nearly allowing the darkness and stillness to paralyze her. She looked for as long as she could, two hours, and then she gave up and turned to go home, finding nothing. And it was the same for the next month, Twilight searched everywhere, as far as she could go, with a little help from her friends. But there was no evidence of any human ever walking on Equestria. Twilight had to accept that she was going to be watching Falling Leaf for a while. She came to the conclusion that she was ten months old when she found her, and if necessary, her birthday may be celebrated on the day that she was found.

Within a year, Fallen Leaf began to express some personality. She ran around a lot, and exhausted Twilight, but not Rainbow Dash. Twilight also had to keep her writing utensils out of reach, for Fallen Leaf would doodle on the walls, and when she was scolded, she would smile and giggle. Twilight had given up the search for her parents, yet everyday, she would still wonder if somepony was looking for Fallen Leaf, tears in their eyes as they search everywhere for their lost infant, who they will never find. She had to brush the thought aside, for it broke her heart. Fallen Leaf had grown to be loved by Twilight, Spike and her friends, they were the only ones who knew about her unique existence in this world. Twilight had worried about her life, and education. One day she was going to find out she was different, and one day, everypony in Ponyville found out she was different.

Fallen Leaf looked out the window at the ponies trotting through the roads, trying to avoid being drenched by the heavy rainfall. She looked over at Twilight, who had her nose buried deep within a book. Fallen Leaf was young, but she knew that only the sound of a drum set falling down the stairs would yank her out of her studies. She balanced on her tiptoes and turned the doorknob, before exiting the library and shutting the door. Her mouth curled into a smile. She had never been outside in this weather before, or when other ponies were around. She ran through the downpour, her orange curls being pushed backwards against the wind. She laughed and jumped into a muddy puddle. She didn't seem to notice the crowd moving in around her. Twilight was furious, but, from then on, Fallen Leaf was the Ponyville human.

Only the ponies in Ponyville knew about Fallen Leaf, nopony else would believe the one informing them that a mare in Ponyville was raising a human. Celestia even brought it up to Twilight a few times, but she denied it and brushed it aside as a rumor. Twilight decided to allow Fallen Leaf to participate in preschool.

"Do you promise you'll be good?" asked Twilight, running her hoof through Fallen Leaves orange mane. She nodded. "Smile." Twilight said, lifting her chin with her hoof. She put on a record-breaking grin. Twilight giggled and then guided her to the door. She began out the door, but she stopped and looked back at Twilight.

"Uhhmm, Twili?" Fallen Leaf began to speak, an anxious edge in her voice.

"Do you want me to walk you to school?" Twilight asked. She walked her to school.

Spike walked her home. When they walked through the door, Twilight was reading, of course. She looked at the faded doodle marks on the wall, and then she looked down at her palms and flexed her fingers. When Twilight realized Fallen Leaf had walked through the door, she got up and welcomed her home in a warm embrace. It didn't take long for her to realize Fallen Leaf seemed unhappy.

"Are you alright, sweetie?" Twilight queried. She remembered Twilight making her promise that she would always tell her if something was wrong. Twilight was protective, and she always wanted to keep Fallen Leaf safe and happy.

"Why am I different?" she asked in turn. Twilight remained silent for a moment.

"You're not different, you're unique." Twilight began. "You see your hands? You have the ability to grab and pick things up." said Twilight. Twilight held her hands in her hooves. "And nopony else can have as beautiful a mane as you have." She continued, messing with her mane.

"But-"

"And you can stand upright and reach higher places than everypony else."

"But everypony at school called me 'Fallen Hooves'" Fallen Leaf rasped. Twilight planted a kiss on the top of Fallen Leaves head.

"I promise that I won't let anypony hurt you or your feelings. Ever. I'll be talking to your teacher about this."

Twilight and Fallen Leaf grew closer and closer as the years past. They were mother and daughter. The best things they would do together was read and stargaze. At night Fallen Leaf would get scared, so Twilight would read to her until she fell asleep again. And sometimes they would fall asleep under the stars.

The summer before Fallen Leaf went into sixth grade, somepony started following her around, looking at her, and taking notes of the things she did. At first she ignored it, she didn't think it was a big deal. But eventually Twilight noticed too and told Fallen Leaf that if she sees that stallion following her around or watching her, she needs to tell somepony immediately. Twilight was worried that this pony was on to her and her daughter, and had to keep an extra eye out.

The summer ended faster than Fallen Leaf had wanted, she was sad, yet still excited to return to school. She was still being followed around though. Walking home on her first day of school, the suspicious stallion that seemed to be spying on her approached her. "So, I see that you're a human." He said. She ignored him. "Ya know, the princess sure could use some information like this. Do you know where you came from?" he inquired. She ignored him. "You were just a test, just an experiment that was somehow misplaced. And now you need to go back to where you came from." He apprised her. She saw the library and departed from the strange pony, bound to tell Twilight what had just happened, and what he told her. She couldn't help but tear up. She was just an experiment.

"You're not an experiment. Don't cry, Fallen Leaf." She assured her, rubbing her back. She wondered what he meant by 'go back to where you came from'. Fallen Leaf continued to sob. And eventually stopped as she was cradled in Twilight's arms. "Look at your hands, move your feet, shake your head." Twilight instructed. It seemed like an odd request, but Fallen Leaf obeyed. "You wouldn't be able to do any of that if you were an experiment, sweetie." Twilight told her. It was a white lie, it was actually more likely that she was magically engineered, but it was better if she didn't know that.

Twilight stared out the window. The stallion was leaning against a tree. He had a camera, a black hat, and sunglasses. She took notes of his suspicious behavior, before tucking Spike and Fallen Leaf into bed. She realized that after she turned the light out, the stallion trotted away. She noted that, and went to bed, before whirling into a pool of nightmares. She woke up in the middle of the night, breathing heavily and sweating. Her terror faded as she looked around at her room.`

The next day at school, the bullying returned. A group of colts were throwing random insults at Fallen Leaf and making fun of her and saying that she'll never get her cutie mark. She ignored them and walked past, just as Twilight had told her to do if she was being harassed. Later, during class, the colts persisted in glaring darts at her. When the school bell rung, she got up and tattled on them, and then left with a smirk on her face.

"Twili, what were you having nightmares about last night?" asked Fallen Leaf, as she approached Twilight.

"Oh, just random, scary stuff." Twilight replied. She had actually dreamed about losing Fallen Leaf, and having to leave Ponyville after her studies were ruined. Fallen Leaf shrugged and walked away to read a book. Twilight looked out the window and frowned, before walking outside with Fallen Leaf trailing behind her.

"Excuse me!" Twilight shouted. The stallion slightly turned his head. She was standing still with Fallen Leaf hidden partially behind her. "What gives you the right to follow us around like this?" she inquired. He grinned.

"Celestia gave me the right. I'm a royal spy. She sent me to find the human that was engineered in Canterlot some years ago."

"If that's true, why would she send you to get 'the human'?"

"Haven't a clue. All I'm supposed to do is send over information, backed up with proof. For example, your favored student is hiding something intensely important from you and I have pictures to back it up." He told her. "Well, have a nice day, Ms. Sparkle, the Princesses should be coming to visit you very soon."

Spike belched a green flame that soon formed into a letter. Twilight lifted it and read aloud what it said.

"My faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, I am very disappointed that you neglected to tell me that you have kept this from me. My sister and I should be arriving at your library momentarily. I will allow you to say a final goodbye but that is it. I am not happy, Twilight Sparkle. Your mentor, Princess Celestia." She finished reading and dropped the letter on the floor. "Fallen Leaf, we have to go! Spike, stay here. I'll be back later on!" Twilight exclaimed before grabbing Fallen Leaf and galloping away. She did what she did best. She panicked, and hid from her problems.

They buried themselves in a small, empty cave. Twilight made sure there wasn't a sign of any animals living in the cave, before snuggling up against Falling Leaf.

"Why are we here, Twili?" Fallen Leaf queried.

"We're here because I love you and I want you to be with me, so I can protect you." Twilight cleared her throat. "Don't worry, we won't be here forever. Just close your eyes, and when you open them again it will be time to leave." She instructed, wrapping her arms around Fallen Leaf and pulling her close. She knew there must be ponies looking for them. She suddenly felt guilty for leaving Spike behind. Her worrying eventually put her to sleep.

Twilight woke up next to a sleeping Fallen Leaf. She gently roused her from her slumber. She sat up and blinked a few times, rubbing her eyes in order to wake her vision. Twilight guided her out of the cave. They wandered the forest for a little while, before returning home.

She galloped through Ponyville, Fallen Leaf trying her best to run along with her. They entered the library and Twilight locked the door.

"Twilight?" comes Spike's voice from upstairs.

"Spike! Were the Royal sisters here? Am I in trouble? Will I get banished?" Questioned Twilight, pacing back and forth.

"Uh, they're here now." Said Spike. Twilight almost fell over with surprise. Sure enough, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna descended down the wooden stairs, followed by Spike. Twilight bowed, before looking up with saddened eyes.

"Twilight Sparkle, you have lied and disrespected me, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry, just please don't take her." Twilight begged. "Sh-she's my daughter. She's too young to go through this! I raised her!" She cried. Somewhere along the line, Twilight's friends had appeared behind her. Tears stung her eyes, she glanced at Fallen Leaf, who was unaware of what was going on.

"Say goodbye."

"B-but-"

"Say goodbye, Twilight Sparkle!"

"Okay." Twilight whimpered, Luna took it upon herself to approach Twilight and put her wing over her. Twilight embraced Fallen Leaf. "You may not see me again, and I may not be with you, but you've got to hold on." Twilight instructed, her body wracking in sobs.

"I'll hold on."

"Promise?"

"Yup."

Twilight lifted Fallen Leaves chin with her hoof. "I'm sorry I couldn't have kept you with me any longer." She said. "You'll be alright."

Fallen Leaf began to cry as she took in the severity of the situation, and she approached Luna and Celestia. The six ponies and the dragon she knew best all waved to her.

"Twilight Sparkle, I apologize, but I'm afraid your studies will have to be discontinued."

And like that, they were gone. That was the harshest Twilight had ever seen Princess Celestia. She sat on the floor sobbing, ignoring her friends who tried to comfort her. Nopony would be capable eliminating this broken-hearted feeling. Two of the most loved things in her life were just cruelly ripped away from her. Twilight's opinion on Princess Celestia was now changed entirely, she overreacted and ruined Twilight's life. Her nightmare had come true.

Three years later, a letter came in the mail. It was missing a return address. Twilight opened it and pulled out a little piece of paper. In slightly messy handwriting it read, "Twilight, I just want to thank you. You took me in, despite me being different, and raised me to who I am now. You would do anything to keep me happy, and I'm sure you still will. And you would go to the ends of Equestria just to keep me safe. I wanted to let you know that I am still happy, and I am still safe, and I still love you. Don't feel bad that I'm not with you anymore, you will always be with me, and you will always be protecting me. I'm still holding on. Thank you, Mommy. Sincerely, Fallen Leaf."

Twilight's eyes filled with tears. She focused them on the other side of the room, the scribble marks were still there, the scribble marks from thirteen years earlier. She collected herself and took a deep breath. "I love you, Fallen Leaf, thank you for holding on".


End file.
